Shloka 11
Śreyas-nirdeśa (Discerning the Superior Good): Nārada–Gālava Saṃvāda
रात्र्यां रात्र्यां व्यतीतायामायुरल्पतरं यदा । गाधोदके मत्स्य इव सुखं विन्देत कस्तदा
rātryāṁ rātryāṁ vyatītāyām āyur alpataram yadā | gāḍhodake matsya iva sukhaṁ vindeta kas tadā ||
毗湿摩说道：“每一夜逝去，寿命便更短一分。既然生命如此不断削减，谁还能真正得享安乐——如同浅水中挣扎的鱼一般？”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time relentlessly reduces one’s remaining life; therefore complacent pleasure is fragile and often illusory. The verse urges urgency in dharma and inner discipline, since worldly comfort cannot be secure when life is steadily running out.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous living and the realities of human existence. Here he uses a vivid simile—like a fish in shallow water—to stress how difficult it is to attain genuine ease while one’s lifespan is continually diminishing.